Thursday, October 31, 2013

Hope all your little ghosts and ghouls had a candy-filled and fun Halloween!! Personally, I'm thrilled that we actually had one for the first time in two years...after having the holiday cancelled in 2011 due to a snowstorm, and in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy. I'm not sure if it was the unseasonably warmish weather we had this year, or the sheer excitement of finally having an uninterrupted Halloween, but we were flooded with trick-o-treaters this year. I almost ran out of candy!
This Halloween, my younger son was an order of french fries and my little pumpkin was a strawberry. My oldest, who's now in middle school, wasn't as excited about getting dressed up this year, since he didn't have the usual parade at school. So, at the last minute, he threw on a scary old lady mask we had hanging around in the attic, and an old robe and slippers of mine. It did the trick! Happy Halloween!
Halloween - 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012

Monday, October 28, 2013

How is it possible that three months have passed already?? I'm definitely in the thick of the 'days are long, the weeks are short' phase of things. Every day Sophia is changing. She's so alert now, and coos constantly {how I'd love to know what she's saying}. She also makes the funniest faces! When we did the photo shoot for this post {which was impromptu, and not the best lighting, hence the grainy photos}, I captured so many, so quickly, that scrolling through them was like watching her in action. That's why I decided to make this little gif, rather than post only one photo. Next month, I'm fairly certain she'll either be sitting up, or have cut her first tooth...both of which are on the horizon soon!

Friday, October 18, 2013

I'm a fan of Martha Stewart Living magazine any month of the year, but the October issue is always a favorite of mine. I love Halloween, and she always has the most creative craft ideas and recipes for the occasion. This year's Halloween issue is no different, and even better, it comes with a free Everyday Food insert tucked inside!
Were any of you as sad as I was when they cancelled Everyday Food subscriptions? I have a stack of back issues about a mile high in my kitchen, and still consider it one of the most practical, family-friendly recipe resources around. Both the magazine and the insert are full of great Fall recipes, but the one that I had to make first was this Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Why? For one, just because it's been about three months now since I was pregnant, my cravings for anything involving chocolate have yet to pack up and leave {especially when they involve a still warm from the oven chocolate chip cookie!}, and two, I could whip this up with one bowl and one spoon, while carrying a infant on my chest, and in between two trips to hockey practices. That's how easy this recipe is.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

You could say I'm a bit baby crazy at the moment. I'm in love with the many faces Sophia makes...the bugged eye spooked look, the perplexed furrow, the nonplussed gaze, and finally, the smile. The kind of smile that makes me feel like everything I do for her is appreciated...and so worth every sleepless night. The smile that melts my heart and makes me so happy it hurts.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

My mother-in-law has been making this fruit torte for longer than I can remember. It's pretty much guaranteed that anytime we go over there for a meal, this will be one of the dessert offerings. She makes it with whatever seasonal fruit she has available. In the summer, she uses peaches, or plums, in the winter, she'll use apples. One of the reasons she makes this dessert so frequently is because it's always a hit with everyone...even my kids. Which is frankly quite shocking to me as they are not big peach, or plum lovers, especially when cooked. But this cake? They love it!

After seeing how much my family loved this torte, I finally asked her for the recipe. It's one of those classic, age old recipes that's probably been around almost as long as I have. It was originally published in the Elegant But Easy Cookbook by Marian Burros and Lois Levine, and after that it made it's way to the pages of the New York Times, where it became one of their most frequently requested recipes of all time. It was so popular that they printed it nearly every year from 1983 to 1995.
After some investigation, I learned that the original recipe was made using Italian prune plums. A few days after this discovery, what was staring right at me while browsing my local farmer's market? Italian prune plums! What are the chances? Kismet, I think.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Birchbox has been cycling around the Internet long enough now that I'm fairly certain most of you have already heard of this service. But if not, do you partake? Because if the answer is no, you should really consider giving it a try. Well, that is, if you're anything like me and have an obsession with beauty products.

The way the service works is, for $10 a month, you get a cute little box filled with an array of the latest and greatest beauty product samples, shipped right to your door {the price includes everything, even shipping}. When you open up an account, you have to wait for an invite. Once you're invited and all set up, you can fill out a questionnaire in your account section, with information about what sort of products you like and use most. For instance, if you're not a perfume wearing kind of person, you can opt not to receive perfume samples. Or, if you have thick, fizzy hair, you won't receive volumizing hair products, but instead you'll get moisturizing and frizz-busting stuff.
I can't tell you how many amazing products I've been turned on to since I've started getting my monthly Birchbox. Every time I see a package from them in my mailbox, I get all excited. It's like Christmas every month. The items they pick are so well curated that there's really never been a product I didn't love. Below is the breakdown on some of the products I received in a recent box.